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Archie Andrews to Die in July's Final Issue of 'Life With Archie'

Tommy Lee Edwards/Archie Comics

America's favorite high school redhead will make a heroic sacrifice to save one of his friends, according to the publisher.

A true American icon is meeting an untimely end this summer, with Archie Comics announcing that Archie Andrews himself will die in the final issue of the Life With Archie comic book series, to be released in July.

“Archie has and always will represent the best in all of us,” said Archie co-CEO and Publisher Jon Goldwater in a statement accompanying the news. “He’s a hero, good-hearted, humble and inherently honorable. This story is going to inspire a wide range of reactions because we all feel so close to Archie. Fans will laugh, cry, jump off the edge of their seats and hopefully understand why this comic will go down as one of the most important moments in Archie’s entire history. It’s the biggest story we’ve ever done, and we’re supremely proud of it.”

All isn’t entirely lost, however; Life With Archie, which launched in 2009, tells the story of an alternate future (more specifically, a pair of alternate futures) in which Archie has graduated high school, grown up and gotten married (to both Betty and Veronica, in different timelines); it’s this future Archie that will “sacrifice himself heroically while saving the life of a friend” in July’s Life With Archie #36.

The issue will be released in two formats — a double-length magazine edition, and two comic book editions (Life With Archie #36 and #37) — with the story showing the death of Archie before jumping ahead a year to show the aftermath his death has had on friends like Jughead, Betty, Veronica and Reggie.

Written by Paul Kupperberg, the story will be drawn by Pat and Tim Kennedy with Fernando Ruiz. Covers for the comic editions will come from a group of amazing artists including Alex Ross, Cliff Chiang, Fiona Staples and Adam Hughes.